Q1. to Q7.Not answered.Q8.What benefits do you think introducing the employee owner status in with limited unfair dismissal rights will have for companies?

In general terms, we do not consider that the proposal offers any obvious advantages. We can well understand that an employee who feels part of the daily running of his or her employer’s activities may be more productive. We struggle to see, however, that the ‘employee owner’ scheme would contributetowards this objective. The employment relationship is unlike any other. Firstly, there is rarely equality of bargaining power. The best candidates may be suspicious of the scheme and accept employment elsewhere. Those left with the ultimatum of an ill-considered share scheme or no employment at all are unlikely to be the strongest candidates and, upon employment, unlikely to feel entirely comfortable or confident in their role. Secondly, an employment relationship is organic and, one would hope, long-lasting.